The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to backdate Miss X’s housing banding to 2022. This is because the complaint is late and concerns events that took place more than 12 months ago. There is no good reason to investigate.
The complaint
Miss X complains the Council should backdate her banding position to 2022.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X complained the Council failed to communicate with her about the housing application she made in 2022 until 2024. She said the Council should backdate her banding to 2022 because of this.
The Council said it closed her initial housing application in 2023 and 2024 was the correct banding date.
The Ombudsman will not usually exercise discretion to investigate complaints that took place more than 12 months ago unless there are good reasons to do so. Miss X has known about the actions complained about since 2022; it would have been reasonable to bring the matter to us sooner. There is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate these events now.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the complaint is late and concerns events that took place more than 12 months ago. There is no good reason to investigate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman